To What Extent
by AirDNA
Summary: Seiran reflects on his relationship with Shuurei. Sorry, I'm not good at summaries One-Shot


_**To What Extent**_

To what extent did he love Shuurei?

It was a question that many people wondered but none understood. He had been asked many times about his attraction towards the girl, but he had never given anyone a straight answer. If it wasn't already obvious then what was the sense in proving what one could not see, let alone understand? Someone once said that if you didn't get it, then it wasn't symbolism. In a different sense it would mean that if you didn't see anything then it probably wasn't there.

He'd even tried to piece together the puzzle that was their relationship in his own mind. He was sure that they weren't in a romantic relationship, but he couldn't deny that they weren't _completely_ exclusive to the title of lovers. The _extent_ to which he cared about her was far too deep to be called something so trivial.

_They were something more._

They had to be. Or else the fact that she was not romantically interested in him would be enough to allow him to focus on any other aspect in his life. Well, not romantically interested? He wouldn't be able to say that in its entirety either. She was not yet mature enough to understand just how deep the word 'love' could be, just how deep 'romance' could go. He knew she found him attractive, she'd told him many times, but attractive _enough_? Was he _her_ kind of 'attractive'? These things remained a mystery to him, and they were probably the last things on her mind. Typically, it would be the same for him but this time…for some reason he couldn't help thinking that they were different. She was, after all, getting older…

So then he winds up back at square one: What were they?

Most people say that it's impossible to see the big picture of the situation when you're the one involved. With this in mind he decided to incorporate what other's thought of their relationship.

For starters he would use Rou Ensei. Despite how much he despised the former governor of Sa Province, the moron had a knack for looking at things from a more, dare he say it, insightful point of view. If he recalled correctly, less than a week after staying with them, Ensei was the one who'd asked him why he didn't just marry her. He couldn't remember the_exact_ reason he'd given, but he was sure it had something to do with her happiness being all that mattered. And it _was_ all that mattered. It was all that mattered to _him_.

_Her happiness and her safety _were his everything.

Next he would use his beloved little brother, Shi Ryuuki. Even after said brother had learned about their being related, he'd held on to that shred of jealously; the one that kept him competing for his ladyship's attention, along with her affection. What was there to be jealous of? Could it have been the amount of things that he'd learned about the mistress in their childhood? From her love of oranges, to her fear of storms, and her extreme hatred of being poor, he'd known how to handle all of her most strange and abnormal tendencies with a smile and an almost natural response. To him, all these things seemed natural, but to others it was a sign of something more. Something akin to a bond…yes, it was like a deep bond that held them together.

He smiled slightly at that. It would seem as though he was getting _somewhere_. It was about time some progress was made.

For now, however, he would have to leave it at that. Whatever people thought they had, and whatever they did have would always remain two different things entirely. Even they didn't know what they had, but he was sure it would not change and he was sure that it would not waver.

The extent to which he cared about his mistress was far greater than anything that anyone could put into words.

The extent to which he loved her was unrivaled by anything in nature and the only exceptions he himself would make to that claim would be Shouka and, on occasions, Kou Reishin.

"Seiran! We're going to be late! This time I won't _give_ them a reason _not_ to pay me!" His smile broadened as her voice resonated throughout their large, broken home.

Still, broken or not, he knew this would always be his home _as long as she was there_. It would forever be _their_ home.

"Seiran! Why are you still sitting? Let's go!" She rushed him, already on her way out the door before he'd even gotten a chance to get to his feet.

He followed her obediently and it wasn't long before he fell into step alongside the person whose life and comfort meant more to him than his very own, than the very world itself. They would be together for all eternity.

Though people say that doesn't exist, Seiran was sure that, for them, eternity was very much real and in progress. This _was_ his eternity.

----

AirDNA: Hahah, I hadn't intended to ramble on so much. It must all seem very drawn out until the ending. Seiran is one of my favorite anime characters and I was crying (mostly whining, no tears involved) about how I disliked the casting for SaiMono's English version. Not to say I didn't love some of the cast members, I just think their voices don't fit the role. (If you've seen Death Note in English and plan on seeing the English version of SaiMono then whenever Ryuuki speaks it'll seem like an OOC Light to you… Not a _bad_ job…just not a _good_ Ryuuki…) Seiran's VA made me want to weep tears, though. (It's Azrael from Gundam Seed (The insane leader of Blue Cosmos) and Haseo from .Hack//Roots… As Seiran, though…I almost chickened out and just watched my DVDs in Japanese w/ English subtitles (though they aren't very good, some of them don't make much sense))

Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and that it made sense (sorry if it was too short, I'm thinking about making a sequel, but maybe not…If I do it won't be Shuurei x Seiran, it'll be Seiran x OC (maybe…) and Ryuuki x Shuurei for the sake of me seeing how Seiran would react to loving someone other than Shuurei (oh the conflicting emotions!)

Personally, I'd like to play with the thought of Seiran and the 13th Princess (yeah, a strange crack pairing...), but until I know what her deal is (I watched episodes raw due to my strange obsession w/ SaiMono and lack of a life...) I won't be writing about her.

Reviews are welcome and constructive criticism is very much appreciated. Flames…well, they amuse me, so give it a shot if you really want to waste your time.


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